Pacers withstand late charge, top Raptors

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Danny Granger and the Indiana Pacers
were more than happy to spoil Jermaine O'Neal's return to
Conseco Fieldhouse. But it turned out to be much closer than
the Pacers would have liked.

Granger finished with 23 points and Mike Dunleavy scored 22 as
Indiana held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by the
Toronto Raptors en route to a 111-104 triumph Friday night.

Trailing by 24 points entering the final quarter, the Raptors
reeled off an 11-0 run to open the period and get within 89-76.
The Pacers, who missed their first five shots of the period,
finally got on the board with Jeff Foster's dunk with 8:12 left
in the game.

Minutes later, Andrea Bargnani's 3-pointer cut the deficit to
single digits, 94-85, and the Raptors eventually got within
100-99 on Anthony Parker's jumper with 1:13 remaining.

"We did not get the job done toward the end of the third quarter
and early in the fourth quarter," Dunleavy said.

"Guys were lolly-gagging around and we let them back in it.
Once they get some momentum, it doesn't matter who you put back
in the game, it can be tough to stop. Fortunately, we were able
to come out on top and win the game."

That would be as close as the Raptors would get as Dunleavy was
fouled shooting a 3-pointer on the Pacers' ensuing possession
and he made all three free throws to push the lead back to four
points.

"Mike is real savvy, he got his man up in the air and converted
all three free throws," Granger said. "That was great for us,
that put us back up four. That pretty much put us over the
top."

Following a turnover by Toronto, Granger's layup extended the
advantage to 105-99 with 25 seconds left.

"I keep telling these guys, they got to start embracing the
moment down the stretch," Dunleavy said. "Instead of fearing it
or dreading it, let's go out there and embrace it, relish it and
take advantage of it. We want guys taking shots and looking for
their shots down the stretch so we can win games opposed to not
losing."

Jason Kapono's 3-pointer got the Raptors within three, but
Jarrett Jack nailed six free throws in the closing seconds to
seal the victory for Indiana, which won consecutive games for
just the fourth time this season.

The game was O'Neal's first back here after being traded to the
Raptors in the offseason for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo
Baston and the draft rights to Roy Hibbert. O'Neal, who spent
eight seasons with the Pacers, had just two points and seven
rebounds in 17 minutes. He had missed the previous nine games
with a right knee injury.

"I really tried to take it as another game, but it's always
special to be back here," said O'Neal, who was selected to six
All-Star games with the Pacers. "I had an opportunity to see a
lot of people yesterday that I haven't seen in a while."

O'Neal heard his share of boos from the Conseco Fieldhouse crowd
on Friday.

"People that boo, to be honest, I really don't care," he said.
"This city has meant a great deal to me, and I appreciate the
support I got tonight. But the people that don't like me for
whatever reason, it really doesn't matter. It doesn't change my
life whatsoever."

Despite their near miraculous comeback and Chris Bosh's 25
points and 16 rebounds, the Raptors dropped their fourth
straight game.

Jack finished with 17 points and seven assists and Troy Murphy
added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers.

"Good win, but we didn't make it easy on ourselves," Indiana
coach Jim O'Brien said. "We will never back off on tempo or
ball movement when a team is coming back. That's the worst
possible message to send to your players."

The contest was even at 20-20 after one quarter but, behind
Granger's 14 second-quarter points, the Pacers began to create
some separation.

Indiana used an 11-2 run, which was capped by Granger's layup,
to open a 46-32 advantage. The Pacers took their biggest lead
of the first half, 54-38, on Dunleavy's 3-pointer.

The Pacers began the second half with a 19-9 spurt to extend the
lead to 75-51. The Raptors got within 18 later in the period,
but Ford's jumper to end the third quarter made the score 89-65.

"We just didn't play well in the first three quarters," Raptors
interim coach Jay Triano said. "Good things happened at the end
of the game, but we still didn't win the game."